Spartan Magazine

spartan lore Members of the Michigan State defense converge on Notre Dame's Joe Heap, including Spartans Embry Robinson (77), Travis Buggs (far right).  moment to get in an early shocker. Notre Dame won the toss and elected to kick off - a tipoff on the influence of the weather. Johnny Matsock tucked the ball under his left arm and behind good blocking, occasionally jolting a tackler himself, ran all the way back to the MSU 40. Thirteen plays later MSU had a 7-0 lead, with Clarence Peaks pounding in for the touchdown and little Jerry Planutis kicking the point. Again in the first period, MSU struck - this time with Earl Morrall arching a 46-yard touchdown pass to John (Big Thunder) Lewis. The point try from placement missfired - but who was to know at that moment the consequences of this failure? Notre Dame managed a touchdown by Joe Heap from one yard out midway in the second period and the Spartans went to the dressing room caked with mud - but happy - with a 13-7 bulge. A key interception in the third period set up Notre Dame for the goahead touchdown, with Heap scoring on a 16-yard run, a twisting, churning, stiff-arming excursion through mud puddles and driving rain. Don Schaefer once again was the man who put his toe into the all-important placement for the point, his second straight success. Notre Dame was not finished, however. The Irish, with two minutes left, completed a 64-yard march capped by Paul Reynolds going over from the 8. This time the point try failed. The Spartans trailed 20-13. But Morrall, in the dying moments, winged a pass from the Notre Dame 48 into the arms of Lewis - all the way to the Notre Dame 12. The number of right-half Bert Zagers of Cadillac was called, with 70 seconds left. Zagers called to go for an end run. He was trapped for a moment. And then with a savage burst, bouncing off tacklers left and right, he ran the 20 longest yards of his life - into the end zone. Score: Notre Dame 20, Michigan State 19. Planutis, sliding and slipping, his football caked with mud, heavy from the soaking of the afternoon rain, kicked from placement and this ball flew wide of its mark. Disappointment? You bet! Consolation? That was there too. The Spartans had suffered their third loss of the season and had lost much of the glow of their Rose Bowl championship. Each team dominated an offensive statistic. Notre Dame ran for 276 yards in the mud and Michigan State almost unbelievably passed for 149 yards under the most trying circumstances. Truly a classic. Knute Rockne Stadium will witness few better. SPARTAN Magazine 55

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